Oktoberfest: 10 words of German origin

Oktoberfest ("October festival"), established in 1810, is known worldwide as a beer festival. It takes place in Munich, Germany, from mid-September until the first week of October. Oktoberfest officially starts when the mayor of Munich taps the first keg and shouts the Bavarian phrase O'zapft is! ("It's tapped!") Then it's party time! In Canada, we celebrate Oktoberfest in cities and towns across the country at approximately the same time of year.

But there's much more to Germany than beer and Bratwurst! Test your knowledge of German vocabulary with this quiz on English words of German origin.

1. is a type of coarse, dense German rye bread.

Stollen

Pumpernickel

Marzipan

2. What is edelweiss?

a plant

a duck

a mountain

3. A is a biscuit in the shape of a figure eight, a knot or a stick sprinkled with salt.

springerle

pretzel

linzer torte

4. What does the word "earworm" (from German Ohrwurm) mean?

bad taste in music

a parasitic ear infection in dogs

a catchy song that gets stuck in your head

5. "Weiner dog" is a nickname for a .

rottweiler

dachshund

Dobermann

6. What does the verb "to yodel" mean?

to treat someone like a child

to drink to someone's health

to sing

7. The word "sauerkraut" is borrowed from German. What do "sauer" and "kraut" mean?

"pickled" and "beets"

"sour" and "cabbage"

"fermented" and "sprouts"

8. Financial transparency was the of the measures that we took.

leitmotif

modus operandi

alibi

9. Marcia through all three years of high school and graduated at the top of her class.

boogied

polkaed

waltzed

10. Which of the following examples could be described as "kitschy"?

plastic pink flamingoes

an ultramodern couch

a painting by Gustav Klimt